Hi, Everyone.
We have seven silver Appleyard ducks going into their first winter here on the coast of Maine. It's been a warm fall with the first hard freeze last night. We've noticed over the past couple weeks that Martha's feathers look markedly different from the other ducks in the morning. Here's a picture:
By the evening, her feathers look mostly like the other ducks (although she's always been a little darker). Does anybody know what's up with this? Is it something about which we should be concerned? Our major worry is that she may not be able to properly fluff up for those cold winter nights.
What else do you need to know? They have an elevated 4'x8' duckhouse with a deep litter, cedar shavings bed and some straw. They have 24-hour access to a 16'x8' covered run with a small (8-gallon-ish) pool, their food, shells and their waterer. They are let out to forage a couple hours in the morning and again in the evening. The get mealworm treats when they come in .
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
We have seven silver Appleyard ducks going into their first winter here on the coast of Maine. It's been a warm fall with the first hard freeze last night. We've noticed over the past couple weeks that Martha's feathers look markedly different from the other ducks in the morning. Here's a picture:
By the evening, her feathers look mostly like the other ducks (although she's always been a little darker). Does anybody know what's up with this? Is it something about which we should be concerned? Our major worry is that she may not be able to properly fluff up for those cold winter nights.
What else do you need to know? They have an elevated 4'x8' duckhouse with a deep litter, cedar shavings bed and some straw. They have 24-hour access to a 16'x8' covered run with a small (8-gallon-ish) pool, their food, shells and their waterer. They are let out to forage a couple hours in the morning and again in the evening. The get mealworm treats when they come in .
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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